Category: visual

A controversial exhibit at Stockholm’s Museum of National Antiquities that sparked a row last month when the Israeli ambassador to Sweden briefly shut it down, has been taken down from the show. The installation, entitled ‘Snow White and the Madness of Truth’, “featured a small ship carrying a picture of Islamic Jihad bomber Hanadi Jaradat sailing in a rectangular pool filled with blood-colored water.”

Peter Schjeldahl pays his first-ever visit to the Barnes Collection and weighs in on discussions now determining its fate. “Altering so much as a molecule of one of the greatest art installations I have ever seen would be an aesthetic crime. It would also give hosts of my fellow art lovers access to treasures that they might otherwise never see. And it’s not as if aesthetic crimes don’t happen all the time. Life goes on. But something extraordinary would be lost in the event.”

“In the last two years museums, encouraged by the Association of Independent Museums, and some independent consultants, realised they could take advantage of a ‘gift aid’ tax concession. This allows charities to reclaim tax on donations from UK taxpayers. The loophole for museums worked by visitors agreeing to make a ‘donation’ equal to the admission fee, and in return they were nominally admitted free.” But That’s soon to go away…

Last year, Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum was having a dreadful year. But then, Willard Holmes arrived as the museum’s new director. “A sharp, thoughtful, well-spoken guy, Holmes appears to have steadied everyone’s nerves in the months that he has been around, and he’s done this while quietly embarking on an audacious series of new exhibits.”

Searchers are finding hundreds of beautifully preserved ships in the Baltic Sea, making it an “archeological paradise.” “Politics and nature have conspired to preserve the secrets of the Baltic. The Cold War seriously hindered exploration, and the low salt content of the Baltic waters kept away the shipworms that feast on wooden wrecks.”

Some art lovers get angry when scientists try to attach literal explanations to art. But “such literalism can actually add to an artwork’s mystique. By helping us identify the part of art that’s not a mystery, these efforts help us focus more narrowly on the part that is.”

Wonder what information is contained in that barcode on the back of your driver’s license? “Visitors to an art exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts got more than their martinis when they ordered drinks at a bar inside the gallery’s entrance. Instead of pretzels and peanuts, they were handed a receipt containing the personal data found on their license, plus all the information that could be gleaned from commercial data-mining services and voter registration databases like Aristotle. Some patrons also got receipts listing their phone number, income range, marital status, housing value and profession. For added effect, the receipt included a little map showing the location of their residence.”

The Guggenheim announces the five finalists for its Hugo Boss Prize. “Since we don’t do a biennial, this is our barometer of what’s happening in the art world globally.”

A painting in the National Gallery of Victoria that lampoons Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s friendship with George W. Bush is drawing outraged critics. “The three-piece work fills almost half of one wall at the National Gallery of Victoria’s indigenous section. The vibrant colours belie a dark commentary on global politics, with satires of popular culture and Australia depicted as the 51st state of the US.”

The design process for the World Trade Center is a big mess of compromises and hodgepodge ideas that really won’t satisfy anyone. “The design as it now stands bears scant resemblance either to Daniel Libeskind’s compelling sketches or to David Childs’s original concept. It is an unnatural hybrid made up of the work of two architects, each of whom believed he had the right to design the building himself.”